LeCloud, a cloud-computing services subsidiary of streaming site, Le.com, was placed on a government blacklist for defaulting on debt repayment on Thursday. Le.com, also known as Leshi Internet, has been in financial trouble for several months, resulting in the resignations of three executives in December when shareholders began demanding repayment of at least RMB 3 billion.
Being blacklisted impacts a company’s credit and may also affect government support and approvals, among other things.
LeCloud’s blacklisting was filed January 28 and published on February 21, according to official government records, after a court in southern Guangdong province ruled that the company had failed to fulfill a payment of more than RMB 3 million to Guangdong Ruixin Network Co., Ltd. despite being able to do so. The sum includes around RMB 2.9 million for services as well as interest and other fees. The initial case brought by Ruixin dates back to 2017.
While LeCloud has been named in 18 other debt default lawsuits spanning October 2018 through early January, this appears to be the first time it was blacklisted.
However, Leshi and its sister company, LeEco, are no strangers to financial woes. LeEco’s film production subsidiary, LeVP, was blacklisted on February 14 by a Beijing court, while LeTV Mobile and its parent company Leshi Holding were also blacklisted last September. LeVP is in negotiations to change its blacklist status, according to an official Weibo post dated February 18.
The man behind both Leshi and LeEco, Jia Yueting, was placed on the debtor blacklist himself in late 2017, which banned him from high-end plane and train travel for a year. Jia has since distanced himself from some of his former companies by leaving his post as Le.com CEO and moving to the US to manage the struggling electric car startup, Faraday Future.